A Massachusetts Appeals Court's decision this week on the handling of civil commitments at state lockups could have a reverberating effect in the realm of prisoner issues, advocates on the issue say.

But some worry about what the court's opinion, which essentially says that prisons cannot house and treat people being kept for substance abuse issues in areas accessible to other inmates, will mean for women sent to the already overcrowded MCI-Framingham.

"That sounds good and would be helpful, but the problem is they can't get any services if they're kept separately," said Rep. Kay Khan, D-Newton, a longtime leader for prison reform in the state. "That's one concern that I would have."

Other prisoner advocates wonder how a facility like Framingham - the only women's prison in the state - would be able to accommodate such an arrangement, given the extreme space shortage. Bonnie Tenneriello, a staff attorney at Boston-based Prisoners' Legal Services, argues that real reform in the area of civil commitments can't be accomplished by the prison system alone.

"Our primary concern is that it shouldn't even be the Department of Correction who's got these women," she said, adding an equally troubling dilemma is the lack of secure beds at Department of Public Health-run facilities that are the preferred destination for women battling alcohol or drug addiction.

Despite their uncertainty about the ramifications, advocates agree in principle with the court's opinion, however. Many lawmakers, legal experts and family members have long argued that women who have not been charged with a crime should not be mixed in with other inmates, given the potential danger.

"That's clearly not helpful for their rehabilitation," said Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, who along with Khan has filed legislation that would stop women from being civilly committed to MCI-Framingham.

Some families who turn over a troubled relative to the court system don't even realize she could end up in prison, Spilka added.

While prisons already must house civil commitments separate from other prisoners, the appeals court's decision, which stems from an earlier case brought against the state by a man who was attacked by an inmate while committed to a Bridgewater correctional facility in 1995, more specifically establishes the allowed arrangement.

"The legislative purpose would not be well served by the reading proposed by the Commonwealth, which argues that criminal convicts can have contact with the civilly committed so long as the convicts are not themselves 'housed' or 'treated' in the same place as the civilly committed persons," the opinion states. "We think any such reading would undermine substantially the legislative purpose to provide protection to those civilly committed."

The decision goes on to say that prisons must ensure that other inmates are not allowed to be in the same area where civilly committed individuals live or receive treatment.

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Department of Correction spokeswoman Cara Savelli on Thursday said the agency is "aware of the court's decision and is reviewing the case to determine next steps," but couldn't comment further on the matter.

Spilka, however, believes the opinion could bring a sea change to women prisoner issues in the state, which she said have been largely overlooked.

"I hope this will help shine a light on what's happening," she said, adding "more and more people are becoming supportive" of her bill.

Changes are already happening on Beacon Hill, according to Khan, who this week said she successfully added an amendment to the House budget that would require the Middlesex Sheriff's Office to more closely track and report on the circumstances of women handled by the justice system in the county.

"There's never been anything in the budget before that made that a requirement," she said, adding she hopes having more detailed data will help officials figure out why women are coming into the system and whether they're being successfully rehabilitated. "This is a real step forward."

Scott O'Connell can be reached at 508-626-4449 or soconnell@wickedlocal.com